Rui Patricio ‘conscious and aware’ after Wolves No1 needed oxygen in Liverpool clash following Conor Coady collision
WOLVES stopper Rui Patricio ‘is going to recover’ after requiring oxygen following a sickening clash with team-mate Conor Coady.
The Portuguese stopper appeared to take the defender’s knee to the face as Mo Salah ran through on goal towards the end of Liverpool’s 1-0 win.
Patricio was stricken on the turf for 13 minutes before he was taken off on a stretcher.
The 33-year-old was conscious and was talking to medical staff while he was being treated by medics.
Wolves had made all of their changes but John Ruddy replaced him as an extra concussion sub as the clock ticked past the 100th minute.
The horrific collision was a reminder of Raul Jimenez’s career-threatening injury in November.
Jimenez, who was watching from the stands, was left with a fractured skull after clashing heads with Arsenal’s David Luiz.
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and his coaching staff re-watched Patricio’s terrifying injury from the sidelines with worried looks on their faces.
Broadcaster Sky Sports refused to show replays of the incident with Patricio’s welfare unknown.
Liverpool took the points courtesy of Diogo Jota’s goal against his former club at the end of the first half.
Santo eased fears of a potentially serious injury and reassured fans ‘he is going to recover.’
He said: “He’s OK. He’s conscious, he’s aware.
“We just had an update now, he’s OK.
“It was a collision with the knee of Coady on the head.
“We have spoken already. He is OK. All these situations when it is the head get us worried. He is OK. He is going to recover.”
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Liverpool’s Jota told Sky Sports after the game: “Life is more important, we wish [Rui Patricio] a speedy recovery.
“Against these kind of teams you have to take advantage when they are unbalanced and they were in that moment. It was good movement and a good goal.
“We need to improve a lot in this competition and hopefully this can be the start of a great run to the end of the season.”
And Reds boss Jurgen Klopp added: “It was an awful situation. I have spoken to Wolves staff, they are rather positive. It was a proper shock.”
Liverpool tweeted after the contest: “Three points but tonight our thoughts are with Rui Patricio.”